1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates to dispensing medication to a patient, and in particular to systems for infusing a patient with medication.
2. Description of the Related Art
A long-standing practice of healthcare providers has been to infuse patients with medication. Intravenous supply of fluids, such as saline solution, have provide for stabilizing the health of a patient. In conjunction with intravenous supply of fluids, healthcare providers very often include other medication, such as antibiotic. In fact, healthcare providers provide a myriad of different agents to patients in this manner. Accordingly, there is a substantial complement of equipment available to healthcare providers to facilitate infusing patients with medication.
Generally, an infusion device (also referred to herein as a “pump” and by other similar terms) is set up and programmed by a caregiver. That is, once a caregiver has coupled the proper medication the caregiver will then review the medication orders and manually program the device in order to dispense the medication.
As one might imagine, such processes can be time-consuming and provide many opportunities for human error. In an increasingly busy environment, such tools are cumbersome and can present genuine liability to the providers.
What are needed are methods and apparatus for improving infusion of medication for a patient. Preferably, the methods and apparatus provide for fewer user interactions and thus lower occurrence of medication errors.